These days, mascaras seem to be able to do almost anything except jump out of the tube and apply themselves! They can lengthen, thicken, add volume, define, curl... and any combination thereof. And the prices run the gamut from £2 to astronomical.
So is it worth spending on mascara, or is bog-standard good enough? Generally speaking, the more you want the product to do, the more it costs and also the easier it is to apply. Expensive mascaras need fewer coats, have better brushes, and with the minimum of fuss will transform something that looks like a dead arachnid into lovely, feathery, fluttering lashes.
Where to begin
So what do you need? And if you don't have a fortune to splash out, can you get a good result with a cheaper mascara? Sure you can; you just need to choose and apply it carefully. One of my favourite make-up tools is an old mascara brush... any will do, as long as you are happy with the size and shape. When you finish an old mascara simply give the brush a good wash and - voila! - you have a grooming tool.
But how do you choose which of the several thousand products on the market is the right one for you? Study your own lashes and then decide what you need the product to do. Have a good look at the brush as well to make sure it is a shape and size you can easily work with. As far as I'm concerned, the brush is more important than the mascara itself.
What you need[quote]
Mascara! A dry brush. Either clean one as mentioned above or you can buy one for about £5 from Shu Uemura, Makeup Forever, Body Shop, and most other brush manufacturers. Lash curlers... if you must.
Perfect application
If you feel you must torture your lashes to get them to bend in an unnatural direction with a medieval-looking instrument disguised as a lash curler, do so now. To get maximum bend, try running the curler under hot water, blotting it and then curling. The slight warmth will speed the curling process and increase the hold. I also know women that use a hair drier to warm the curler. Be careful not to touch your eyelid with the curler, though, as it will be fairly warm. Doh... Slightly tilt your head back and raise your brows. This will help you to avoid hitting your eye socket with the brush and ruining the rest of your application. Pick up the lashes with the brush. Wiggle it back and forth slightly and push the brush toward the eyelid. When you feel the brush touch the lid: release. This way you are coating the lashes right the way down to the base of the hairline to get the thickest and most natural coverage. Move right or left and repeat. If the brush isn't the best or the lashes aren't separated evenly, use a dry mascara brush to smooth them out. I normally come from the top of the lash and twirl the brush at the same time. By doing this, I get an upward bend to the lash without the dreaded curler, and separate without pulling any lashes out. Once the mascara has been separated, apply a second coat. If you can, try to get this done before the first coat dries, to avoid flaking. If this means doing one eye at a time, take the extra time to do it! If you are very twitchy, open your mouth really wide. It sounds stupid, but it works. Because you are thinking about how incredibly dopey you look, your mind will not be dwelling on the fact that you are approaching your eye with a pointy stick! (And anyway, think of the ridiculous faces you always pull when you are applying mascara... am I right?)
Short, stubby lashes?
If your lashes are short and stubby, try a mascara with fibres, or buy a bottle of little fibres (several companies are now selling them) to add to your regular mascara.
Apply a coat of mascara, and while it's wet, apply the filaments, then cover them with another coat of mascara. It sounds like a palaver, but it couldn't be easier. Really! If any filaments fall on your face as you are doing them, they easily wipe away, and after they are covered with mascara they stay put until you remove them with a regular eye make-up remover.
There are very few mascaras left containing little fibres, because so many people are under the impression that they fall off under the eye during the day. They don't. But if you use filaments, any mascara can become a super-volume product whenever you need it.
Another option is to get one of the extreme volume mascaras that give the effect of false lashes without the extra bits. They do this by using really high wax and polymer content. These ARE prone to falling a bit, but in the end, they are worth keeping an eye on (ho ho) because they really do get the job done admirably. The best in this category are YSL False Lash Effect Mascara, Bourjois Coup de Theatre, Lauder Illusionist, Prescriptives Plush and Lancôme Amplicil.
A hint of colour
Colours make a welcome change from brown and black, without being a kick-back to the ABBA days. I still remember when we thought it was cool to use electric blue liner inside and outside the eye with matching mascara! Although those colours are trendy again, I think we will leave them to teenagers!
The new colours are dark browns and blacks with a tint of colour: mucky green, violet, burgundy, and marine blue. They can make eye colour really pop out if you use a contrasting shade. Violet and burgundy will accentuate green and hazel; deep greens, blues, and bronzes will pull out blue eyes; and women with brown eyes can easily wear any of them. Here are my favourites:
Green
Shiseido Bronze Green Volume Mascara & Curl Mascara
Lancôme Extencil Vert (lengthen & curl)
Amplicil Vert Panoramic (volume)
Blue
Lauder Illusionist Navy (maximum curl)
Lancôme Amplicil Blue Panoramic (volume)
Violet
YSL False Lash Effect #4 (extreme volume)
Shiseido Violet Volume Mascara & Curl Mascara
Burgundy
YSL False Lash Effect #5 (extreme volume)
